Apple bans dictionary from App Store over swear words

Ninjawords, an iPhone dictionary application that included definitions for
swear words, has been rejected by Apple

Apple asked the makers of Ninjawords to remove "objectionable" swear words from the dictionary

By Claudine Beaumont, Technology Editor

11:33AM BST 06 Aug 2009

Apple refused to allow the dictionary to be sold through its site unless the creators of the app removed words it deemed "objectionable".

The application in question, Ninjawords, was reworked by its developers, Matchstick Software, to delete the banned terms, and is now available from the iTunes App Store.

However, only iPhone and iPod touch users aged 17 years and older can download the application, because Apple ruled that it was unsuitable for younger audiences, even after the deletion of the "objectionable" terms.

Apple's terms of service for the iTunes App Store state that "applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.), or other content or materials that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users."

Apple must give every application the green light before it can be officially sold to iPhone and iPod touch users through the iTunes App Store.

The rejection of the Ninjawords dictionary is the latest in a series of bizarre approval and rejection decisions by the Apple moderators. In recent months, Apple has banned an ebook application because it allowed people to download books, such as the Kama Sutra, which featured explicit content. However, it has also approved several apps that have offended internet users and campaign groups, including a game called Baby Shaker, in which players had to violently shake their iPhone to quiet a crying baby until red crosses appeared in its eyes.

Critics are calling for greater clarity around the guidelines Apple uses to judge the suitability of applications. The debate has been thrown in to even sharper focus Apple's rejection of the Google Voice telephone app last week, amid claims that AT&T, the iPhone's exclusive network carrier in the United States, may have played a hand in the decision.

John Gruber, a leading Apple commentator, was stunned by Apple's decision to first reject, and then censor, Ninjawords. "Apple censored an English dictionary. A dictionary. A reference book. For words contained in all reasonable dictionaries. For words contained in dictionaries that are used every day in elementary school libraries and classrooms," he wrote on his blog.

"Ever time I think I've seen the most outrageous App Store rejection, I'm soon proven wrong. Apple requires you to be 17 years or older to purchase a censored dictionary that omits half the words Steve Jobs [Apple's chief executive] uses every day."